Public toilets a stinking problem

JOHOR BARU: The majority of public toilets in areas under Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) jurisdiction are still getting poor ratings when it comes to cleanliness.

Johor Baru Mayor Datuk Adib Azhari Daud said there were a total of 2,088 public toilets that were audited by the city council last year.

He said of the figure, a total of 896 public toilets received less than three stars.

“Only 93 toilets received a five-star rating, with 359 receiving four stars and 740 receiving three stars. The remaining toilets were rated two stars or fewer for cleanliness, ” he said during a full council meeting.

He said the audit covered public toilets at supermarkets, places of worship, education centres, petrol stations, restaurants and government buildings.

Grading was based on the overall cleanliness of the toilets, water supply, usable facilities such as sinks and tissue as well as proper separation between male and female toilets.

Adib said establishments that received five stars would be selected to compete with other public toilets in the country for the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s clean public toilet award.

The mayor also talked about the proper display of state and national flags in restaurants within the city area during the meeting.

“It was found that several eateries failed to display the state and national flags in accordance with requirements.

“Some of the flags were torn and faded but still displayed at the eateries, ” he said.

He added that MBJB enforcement unit would be monitoring eateries to ensure they followed protocol when displaying the flags.Adib said the rules also applied to business owners.